Justin supplied me with a link to a marvelous Letter to the Editor which I liked so much that I thought I would share it here.

In an opinion titled Say no to war toys, one Mary Rudge attacks the climate of guns 'n' burgers, and maintains that Happy Meals aren't happy at all!

McDonald’s needs to know that there are people in the community who do not think it is appropriate to associate happiness with weapons, killing, destruction, warriors, fighters, world domination and other violence such as the toys currently given to boys as a Happy Meal and as the Happy Meal boxes depict .

Girls get Hello Kitty in the Happy Meals, boys get a war toy —- since when is selling something about killing happiness at mealtimes? I asked one of the employees at McDonald’s how long these killer theme toys are going to be given out and was told that the toys change about every six weeks and that these will be given to children until the middle of October when the theme toys will change and new boxes and toys will be furnished. Well, I am not happy with violence as theme for a Happy Meal for children.

I am not happy with these toys and Happy Meal boxes, nor were my friends. McDonald’s makes the decision to bring such items into the community. Their leadership needs rethinking — all who are working there serving up this message to kids need some peace education. This is too violent a world!

McDonald’s should understand this is terribly offensive to many of us who suffer pain from war to use war toys and symbols of violence for Happy Meals. Why consider G.I. Joe’s exploits a symbol of happy meals for kids today, with so many of our young service men and others dangerously in harm’s way of dying daily and reports of death, destruction and war horrors in the media daily? Who can eat with this reminder before their eyes?

Children should be educated to know that peace means being creative in a way that brings health, fun for all, getting along together, having a wonderful environment that they can appreciate, and they should receive toys that are constructive, not induce children to focus on violence, horror and destruction of the world.

–– Mary Rudge

I suspect she has, and that's why she's so irritated. McDonald's is simply giving young customers what they want, and is hardly to blame for the fact that testosterone makes little boys want to play with guns. While I am sure that many agree with her, it strikes me as unreasonable to force McDonald's to engage in social engineering against the wishes of their youngest customers.

From time immemorial, boys have played war games with war toys. People who live in a world as they imagine it should be are doomed to disappointment when events like 9/11 take place. Shrill demands that others live according to the standards of an imaginary world of "peace" end up creating wars, for they forget two important lessons of history:

They might as well demand the end of gravity.